North Butte Mining Company, Issued to Kidder Peabody

Stock Certificate, issued/canceled1920'sAmerican Bank Note CompanyThe item shown is representative of the piece you will receive

The North Butte Mining Company, in Butte, Montana, was incorporated under Minnesota law on April 1, 1905, by Charles A. Duncan, Louis W. Powell, and Joseph B. Cotton.

In June, 1905, the company bought the properties of the Speculator Mining Company which had previously been owned by the P.A. Largey Estate. Among the properties acquired were the Speculator, Edith May, Jessie, Copper Dream, and Miner's Union claims. The company contracted with the Washoe Copper Company to process the copper ore, thus eliminating the need to expend large amounts of money building reduction and smelting facilities.

In 1909 the North Butte purchased the Granite Mountain Mine from the Lewisohn Brothers interests, and in 1913 the company acquired massive holdings in the East Side Mineral Area. This acquisition more than doubled the number of claims being worked by the company.

In 1915 the company suffered the first of two major disasters. On October 19, 1915, a portion of a shipment of dynamite was ignited accidentally on the surface next to the Granite Mountain shaft, killing 15 miners. On June 9, 1917 a spark ignited a fire at the 2300 foot level of the Granite Mountain shaft. Smoke from the fire quickly spread throughout the mine and approximately 160 miners lost their lives. Because of the joint operation of the Granite Mountain and Speculator mines, the disaster has always been known as the Speculator fire.

Although the company quickly repaired the damage to the Granite Mountain shaft, production never returned to pre-fire levels. After the end of World War I, copper prices dropped dramatically. During the period of 1920 to 1923 the company was operating at a loss, and production was sharply curtailed. In March of 1921 production ceased and the mine closed until June of 1922. From then on the mine produced only sporadically, mostly through leasors. In 1942 the Anaconda Company leased the Speculator and Granite Mountain mines; around 1952 they purchased the property. Much of the company's east side property became part of the Berkeley Pit.

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